Sure eyes and steady hands slay the Tiger

Morning fourballs: Philip Reid watched the drama unfold as Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn produced a birdie feast to take the first match

The job spec was short, and succinct. It called for someone with a sure eye, a steady hand, and a sound heart. There was no mention of jungles, or the heat. As the Rolex clock on the first tee ticked its final seconds towards eight o'clock yesterday morning, however, the temperature was rising. The two men selected to be Tiger slayers for the day, bedecked in cashmeres rather than hunting attire, had that steely look in their eyes that only the bravest of the brave possess.

Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn were first to walk on to the tee, to be followed moments later by Tiger Woods, the world number one, and Paul Azinger, his buddy. To them would fall the task of hitting the opening shots of the 34th Ryder Cup and, as so happens under the most intense pressure that a golfer can know, the first drive - by Azinger, pushed to the right to roars of "fore" and with giddy laughter echoing down the fairway - was nervous, badly-judged and failed to give a hint of the breathless and exhilarating play that lay ahead.

This was no ordinary match; it was extraordinary. Woods snapped at some unknown face in the crowd from a fairway bunker on the first - "In the middle of my backswing. G-O-L-L-Y!!" - and his mood was no better when Clarke, who been in the same bunker, rolled in his eight-foot birdie putt. That was to set the trend for the morning, with both teams enjoying a birdie feast in benign conditions.

On the second hole, with Azinger out of it after finding a greenside bunker and then flying his shot through the green, an American voice in the crowd remarked, "go get a hot dog, Paul, see you on the third tee". Which was a little unkind. His partner didn't let him down, however. After Clarke sank his birdie putt, Woods followed him in; and, on the third, Clarke grabbed his third birdie in three holes but Woods also birdied, and the battle lines were well and truly drawn.

As Azinger and Woods walked to the fourth tee, Zinger turned to Tiger and asked: "Do you think they're going to birdie every hole?" Woods shrugged, and the knowledge that birdies, rather than pars were needed, was emphasised.

But it wasn't to be a two-man show. For most of that early part of the journey, Bjorn and Azinger had been back seat passengers; eager to get to their destination, but preferring to let others do the work. It was to change. Azinger got in on the birdie act with a 25 footer for birdie on the fourth, to level the match, and Bjorn's first birdie of the day came on the fifth, even if Woods followed him in.

When Woods sank his fourth birdie in eight holes, it put the US pairing ahead in the match for the first time. Things were to change on the homeward run, however. The 10th hole, with the tee tucked away in the back corner, is a simple lay-up and approach shot to the green; and it was here that Bjorn jumped out of Clarke's shadows.

His nine-iron approach over the water and between the trees came to rest 12 feet from the cup, and the Dane rammed in the putt. The roar that greeted the winning birdie was deafening; and the decibel level increased further when the European supporters realised Sam Torrance was at greenside.

If Clarke was on fire at the start, it was Bjorn who burned a trail home. One down walking on to the 10th green, and all square walking off the 11th tee, Bjorn had an extra spring in his step.

On the 12th, a par three of 190 yards, his four-iron tee-shot finished 35 feet from the hole. Undaunted, Bjorn's putt never looked like going anywhere other than the bottom of the hole. Again, the pendulum had swung to the European pair; and Bjorn, who missed out on Brookline three years ago, was revelling in it all.

On the 16th, Bjorn's sand wedge approach landed on the upper tier of the green and eased its way down to three feet. Woods, some 25 feet away, thought his putt was going to drop; but it grazed the hole, and he sank to his knees, knowing they couldn't win. "Well done," said Clarke, shaking his partner's hand, as Bjorn rolled his short putt. Europe had gone dormie two.

The drama, though, continued. Woods, holing from 10 feet for birdie, reduced the gap to one hole - and the 18th, one of golf's great drama holes, produced yet more. Between them, this match had produced 17 birdies after 17 holes; and it wasn't over just yet. After Azinger's approach over water finishes just 12 inches from the hole - for a conceded birdie - it was up to either Bjorn, who was 20 feet below the hole, or Clarke, 18 feet above it, to hole one of their putts for a win.

It didn't require a second chance. Bjorn grabbed his fifth birdie of the homeward run - making it 19 birdies in the match - with a superbly judged putt. Together, they had slain the Tiger; and they'd beaten Azinger.

"It's the Ryder Cup, and we knew we had to win," said Clarke. "We were making birdies all over the place, as they were. They've shot 63, and lost. Anytime you hit against Tiger, you're going to have a tough match, but we just stuck to our guns and knocked in a few really big putts at the right time."